* MITIE GROUP PLC: British outsourcing firm Mitie Group Plc said Chief Financial Officer Paul Woolf had resigned to join intellectual property management company CPA Global as its finance boss.

* MAN GROUP: British hedge fund manager Man Group's president Jonathan Sorrell will stand down with immediate effect, the company said.

* OIL: Oil prices traded higher after an industry report said U.S. crude stockpiles fell last week by more than twice the amount that analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast.

* GOLD: Gold prices edged up, but hovered near a four-week low hit in the previous session as risk appetite improved amid hopes of an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank and fiscal stimulus measures from Germany, Europe's largest economy.

* The UK blue chip index closed up 0.4% at 7267.95 points on Tuesday as hopes of imminent interest rate cuts from major central banks buoyed sentiment, while JD Sports jumped to an all-time high on upbeat results.

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times

> Other business headlines (Reporting by Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru)